The Prince and His Princess
by Another Tracy
Summary: Fall 2003, Harm and Mac re-connect
1. Rescuing the Princess

Title: The Prince & His Princess Author: Tracy Rating: G Spoiler: Everything, pretty much! Disclaimers: Just borrowing the characters for a while. Hope that when I put them back, they won't be where I found them!! Summary: I don't believe that they don't miss each other. And if the writers that get paid for it won't show it, then those of us in the cheap seats will. I needed a little romance this week, and I love the fall, so I put it all together, and, voila! Enjoy the fluff! Feedback: Positively worded constructive feedback appreciated to harmnmacfan@msn.com  
  
Rock Creek Park Sunday, 2 November 1357 Eastern  
  
Harm's POV  
  
He was back at his bench. He'd been coming whenever he was in town, between his assignments for the Agency. He started coming in mid-July when Bud mentioned that she was taking AJ to the park every Sunday afternoon to give them a break after the new baby was born.  
  
The bench was strategically located such that he could see the playground, but it was hard to see who was on the bench. He had a newspaper with him ready to cover his face if needed, and he always had his walkman. He liked to listen to old favorites while he watched them. It was only an hour or maybe two (if he was lucky) each week, but it kept him going.  
  
He tried not to think about it much, but the loneliness gnawed at him. All of his friends were at JAG, and that was gone. He'd had a beer with Sturgis a few weeks ago. He kept up with Bud and Harriet, but even that was awkward. He tried to spend time with them and his god son whenever he was in town. He could feel himself drifting away from them all. It was probably for the best. Best not to have too many attachments considering his new profession. But this attachment was one he just couldn't let go of. 'Let go? Ironic, huh?' he thought.  
  
The weather was cool; autumn had finally arrived. They were a little late today, but Harm wasn't worried. He had taken the long way over, driving down the street that was parallel to Bud and Harriet's and saw her Corvette parked in their driveway. He pulled his headset onto his head and pressed play. Today was "Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits" and "Homeward Bound" began to run through his head. 'Irony can be so ironic sometimes, huh?' he thought of the tune. He picked up the newspaper and scanned the headlines, stopping every minute or two to see if they'd arrived yet.  
  
Finally, after about 5 minutes, they came running to the playground. She was chasing AJ, and he was screaming with delight. He could even hear it over the music She grabbed him around the waist and they spun in a circle, both giggling. Harm slowly brought the newspaper down to watch them.  
  
Mac set him down on his feet and he took off again, this time for the swings. Mac followed him and sat down on the swing, pulling him up to sit on her lap. She pushed off with her feet, then lay back and stretched her legs out toward the sky. AJ lay back with her, mimicking her movements.  
  
They stayed on the swings for several minutes, but a four year-old's attention span was short, and they were off to the monkey bars. AJ swung from rung to rung, Mac right behind him, her hands ready to grab him if he slipped. He made it all the way across and she grabbed him from the last rung and swung him around, covering his face with kisses as he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
Their next stop was the seesaw, and Mac hesitated. Harm knew she was hesitant because it was hard on the legs to bring oneself up and down so that AJ could enjoy himself. At that very moment, a little girl ran up to them and plopped herself down on the other bench and the two of them began seesawing away, laughing their heads off. The little girl's father was now walking up to the piece of equipment and talking to the little girl for a moment. He then turned to Mac and began talking to her. He was tall and handsome, and he was smiling at her.  
  
Harm's stomach tightened. 'For god's sake, can't I just have this? Do I have to watch men drooling over her everywhere?' He pulled his headset off and folded up the newspaper. As he got up to leave, a woman came running over to them.  
  
"Honey, I told you not to let her play on the seesaw!" she cried. "The swings only! She'll get her shoes all dirty and she has to go to her grandmother's!" The man put his hand out to her and the woman, obviously his wife, stepped into his embrace. They turned and he introduced her to Mac, who held out her hand to the woman and they shook. At that point, the father and Mac walked over to the seesaw and picked the children up. The husband and wife left with their daughter, and Mac and AJ walked away from the playground.  
  
It was too early for them to leave, so Harm got up and walked around the bend to see where they were going. He was risking exposure, but counted on Mac being too focused on AJ to pay attention to him. He saw that they had broken into a run and appeared to be headed for a pile of raked leaves. With a whoop they both jumped feet first into the leaves and began rolling around. Harm laughed out loud before he caught himself.  
  
Oh, if they could only see her now. The tough jarhead lawyer giggling like a school girl; her hair and clothes covered with the autumn leaves. Had she ever looked more beautiful than she did at that moment? He wasn't the best person to judge. Every time he looked at her he was overwhelmed by her beauty. He stood and watched them for several minutes, a smile on his face.  
  
Mac's POV  
  
She unhooked AJ from his seatbelt and helped him down and to step out of the car. He didn't like her to pick him up anymore unless it was in play. She had been taking AJ to the park every Sunday for several months. It accomplished two things: one, it gave Harriet and Bud a much-needed break, and two, it gave her something to hang on to.  
  
She hadn't been face to face with Harm since that day in the hospital. Actually, she hadn't even seen him that day, just heard him talking to Clay and Catherine Gale about his new job flying for the CIA. He had sounded so happy and excited, and she felt nauseous. Harm. Flying. CIA. No matter how you sliced it, it spelled disaster. If she'd learned nothing else from Paraguay, she'd learned that the CIA was not a group of people that you wanted to work for. When the chips were down, the Agency was nowhere to be found. In spite of how badly things had gone between her and Harm in Paraguay, she knew she'd be dead or perhaps alive but wishing she was dead if not for him. How had everything gone so wrong then and since?  
  
Now Harm was gone and she was pretending everything was fine. She was playing the dutiful officer and friend to all. Including Clay, much to his chagrin. There was no way she could feel for anyone what she felt for Harm, and no way she could feel anything for anyone else at this point in her life. Inside, she was holding on by a thread. She ached to see him, to know he was ok, to look into those gray eyes and to see that smile and know that everything would be ok.  
  
She shook her head from her thoughts as AJ tugged at her hand. "Where do you think you are going, fella?!" With that, their usual game of chase began. AJ took off, and Mac gave him a few seconds head start before she started out with "I'm gonna git you!" AJ squealed with delight and headed straight for the playground. She caught him around his waist and twirled him around. He shrieked with laughter and yelled "More Auntie Mac, spin me like Uncle Harm!!!" With that Mac slowed, and brought him to the ground, her eyes stinging. Harm always played airplane with AJ. Shaking herself for a moment, she said, "Hey, feel like swinging REALLY HIGH today, buddy?" "YES!" was AJ's shouted response.  
  
They played on the swings, and on the monkey bars. As Mac was about to grab AJ off of the last rung, she saw a man sitting on a bench out of the corner of her eye. She pulled AJ to her and swung him around again, this time with his arms around her neck, as she covered his sweet little face with kisses. As she made the turn she sought out the man on the bench. She felt like they were being watched.  
  
She was right. They were being watched. It was Harm.  
  
Did he think she wouldn't see him? She might not be Force Recon, but she was still a marine. Her mind was racing. Fortunately, AJ didn't give her much time to think as he pulled her over to the seesaw. She hesitated as a veteran of trying to ride the seesaw with AJ. Her problem was solved however, when a little girl appeared just then and began to ride along with AJ, both of them laughing merrily.  
  
"Lily!! I told you not to run too far ahead!" a man called as he approached. "Your mother is going to be very upset. She didn't want you to get dirty!"  
  
"Maybe the park isn't the best place to be, then?" Mac asked with a smile.  
  
The man smiled at Mac, "No, I guess not. But Lily can be very persuasive, and she promised her mother she needed just a few minutes on the swings." He laughed at his daughter's trick. "My wife's in the rest room."  
  
Mac laughed too and entered into a conversation about their respective charges, explaining AJ was not her little boy, but rather her god son. As she was talking to the man, who introduced himself as Jim, she had her arms around her, rubbing her arms in the chill, and was gently swinging from side to side. She turned just a little to see Harm on his feet and making as if to leave.  
  
At that moment, Jim's wife walked over calling out in complaint about their daughter's antics. Mac was distracted by watching Harm out of the corner of her eye. He had stopped his preparations to leave and was watching them. Mac turned back to be introduced to Jim's wife Linda. They shook hands with her, gathered their little girl and moved off toward their car. Mac had pulled AJ off the seesaw at the same time Lily was removed, so that he wouldn't hit the ground with a thump.  
  
"Auntie Mac, can we do something bad?" AJ asked with a twinkle in his eye. This was their code for something Harriet probably never would have allowed, but was something Auntie Mac would do in a minute.  
  
"Ooooh, AJ, I don't know!" she responded with a similar twinkle. "Let's go!!!" They wandered off the playground to see what kind of "trouble" awaited them. Mac could feel his eyes following them. Her mind raced. 'What is he doing here? How did he know we were here? Should I speak to him? God, I miss him so much!'  
  
AJ pulled on her hand as he spotted the leaves. This was a game they had played last year in the fall leaves, and Mac had to admit, a personal favorite. Of course, last year Harm had thrown her into the leaves, and he and AJ had jumped on her and tickled her. She smiled at AJ and they both broke into a trot and with a shout, threw themselves into the leaves. She grabbed AJ and began tickling him, and they both rolled around and were quickly covered with leaves from head to toe. Their laughter rang out all around them. They continued to playfully struggle until they tired themselves out. They finally lay quietly in the leaves, Mac on her back, and AJ against her chest, both looking up at the sky.  
  
"Auntie Mac, can you tell me a story?" AJ was yawning a little, his pudgy fist clenching her shirt, and his other fist rubbing his eyes in a way that told Mac he'd be asleep in no time. Mac had her left arm around AJ, holding him in place. Her right hand was stroking his head. She shifted her weight a little and began to sit up. She didn't really want to lay too long in leaves full of bugs and dirt. Afghanistan was one thing, Washington another. She pulled herself up and sat cross-legged with AJ across her lap, still holding him close.  
  
"Sure, honey," Mac replied, and began her tale. She liked to tell him stories of her adventures with Harm, but always sanitized so that he would never know the real danger that they had faced, nor that the handsome prince who rescued the princess with a kiss were his godparents.  
  
Today she told him the story of the Sudanese Embassy. In her story, however, Ambassador Moshach became the evil sorcerer Moshach who captured the princess and hurt her. The prince, enraged, came to rescue her, only to see the evil sorcerer try to take her away with a vial of deadly poison in his hand that he would force her to drink if the prince came any closer. She was just at the point where the sorcerer had dragged the princess into the dungeon of the castle when she heard the leaves crunch behind her.  
  
"I think he's asleep," Harm said softly.  
  
"I know," she replied, just as softly. "I was telling it more for me than for him, anyway."  
  
Walking around to face her, he crouched down to eye level. "How does the story end?" he asked.  
  
Her eyes filled with tears to finally be so close to him. "As it always has, and it always will. The prince rescues the princess."  
  
They held one another's gaze for a moment. Harm broke first. "Would you like me to take him for you, so you can stand?" he offered.  
  
"Thank you," Mac replied, looking down at the little boy.  
  
Harm lifted him gently, easily into his arms. Mac pulled herself up gracefully and reached out again for AJ, but Harm shook his head. "It's ok. If you don't mind, I'd like to carry him." Mac nodded in response as they moved toward the parking area.  
  
As they approached her car, Harm spoke. "Mac, how about if we put him in my car? I'll follow you home and we can leave your car there, then take AJ home," he suggested quietly. "If you don't have other plans, I'd like to take you out to dinner, maybe catch up?" he added hopefully.  
  
Mac's heart felt lighter than it had in six months. "I'd like that, Harm, thanks," she answered quietly. She followed him to the back of the lot where his SUV was. They put AJ in the backseat, and then he opened the passenger's side front door for her to get in so that he could drive her back to her car. She hesitated for just a moment, then turned toward him and slid her arms around his waist. She held him tightly, her head buried in his chest.  
  
Harm was taken aback for a brief moment, but quickly slid his arms down around her shoulders, and pressed her to him. He brought his head down and kissed her temple. He could feel her shoulders shaking, her tears wetting his shirt front. "It's ok, baby, it's ok," he soothed her. "It'll be ok. I'm here, it's ok." His words seemed to calm her, and she settled down. She held him a little more loosely, and finally slipped her arms from around him. She turned again and stepped up to sit on the front seat. Harm looked at her for a moment, then reached across and fastened her seat belt.  
  
As he reached across her, she watched him, wide-eyed at their closeness. He was all business, though, and pulled back out of the car, and closed her door. Mac wiped her eyes, and pulled herself together before he got in the driver's seat.  
  
After getting to her car, he followed her over to her apartment and they left her car there. She again joined him in the front seat of his car. They didn't speak, mindful of the sleeping boy. Mac glanced over at Harm, his strong arms on the wheel, his big solid body beside hers. She felt safe at last. He was back, and everything was right with the world.  
  
She knew that they had a lot of talking to do, but she didn't care. She had a lot to make up for, to explain, but she knew that it would be ok. He was here now, and he was her prince. He would rescue her again. He always did.  
  
He looked over at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. Their eyes locked briefly. He saw in that brief moment so much. Harm pulled his right hand from the steering wheel and reached over to her two hands in her lap. He picked up her left wrist and slid his hand down to take her left hand into his. He brought it to his mouth and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. He rested their hands together on the console between the seats. It was going to be ok. 


	2. As You Wish

Title: As You Wish Author: Tracy Rating: G Classification: Harm/Mac Romance Summary: Sequel to "The Prince and His Princess". I wanted to continue with the romance because I enjoyed it, and I got a lot of positive feedback (thank you!). I'm not sure how far I'll take this. Positively worded constructive feedback welcome to harmnmacfan@msn.com  
  
Roberts' Residence 2 November 2003 1537 Eastern  
  
Mac pressed the doorbell while Harm held AJ. They debated waking him up, and decided that unless he did, they'd leave it up to Harriet to decide when his nap should be over. They hadn't spoken since they left Rock Creek Park. They had agreed to have dinner together that evening. It wasn't clear if they would talk, but Mac didn't care. She just wanted to spend some time with Harm. Over dinner, fixing his plane, or watching them unload produce at the store. It didn't matter how, but she needed to be beside Harm. To be separated from him now would be physically painful. She wasn't sure she'd survive.  
  
They heard footsteps and the door opened to reveal a smiling Bud.  
  
"Colonel, and COMMANDER!" Bud realized who was there. "It's so good to see you!" With Bud's cry AJ began to stir.  
  
"I ran into Harm at the park this afternoon," Mac explained as Harm moved into the house with a now squirming and fussy AJ. "When AJ fell asleep, he offered to bring us back. We weren't sure if we should wake him or not. He's been asleep for about 45 minutes."  
  
"It's just as well he's waking then," Bud answered. "Much later and we wouldn't get him to sleep tonight." He took AJ from Harm and kissed and hugged the little boy before setting him down. Bud stuck his hand out and shook Harm's hand warmly.  
  
"Daddy! You wouldn't believe all the fun we had at the park!" AJ started to bubble to his father, turning towards his Auntie Mac with a smile. His eyes fell on Harm, whom he hadn't actually seen until that moment. "UNCLE HARM!" He shrieked and launched himself at Harm. Harm picked him up again with a smile.  
  
"Hey, buddy, didja miss me?" Harm smiled and tousled his head. "Cause I sure missed you!"  
  
AJ put his little chubby arms around Harm's neck and his head on his shoulder. "Uncle Harm, I missed you real bad." He brought his head up to look Harm in the eye. He put his tiny hand on Harm's cheek in a gesture that formed a lump in Harm's throat. "And so did Mommy, and so did Daddy. Jimmy would miss you, but he doesn't know you yet. You're going to stay for a while, aren't you, Uncle Harm? We missed you so much." His voice dropped to a whisper, "Even Auntie Mac missed you, but she didn't want anybody to know."  
  
Harm whispered back conspiratorially, knowing Mac and Bud were listening. "Well, if she didn't want anybody to know, how do you know?" Harm smiled,  
  
"Because I heard her last week, when were leaving the park, and I was supposed to be asleep in the car," AJ babbled on importantly. "She was crying, real quiet, and she said something like, 'oh Harm' or something like that. Yup, she misses you real bad, Uncle Harm!"  
  
Mac's eyes got big, and Harm turned to look at her. Her eyes hit the floor, afraid to see the smirk and quirked eyebrow that was inevitable when he knew he had her. Bud decided to minimize everyone's embarrassment for the moment by again taking AJ from Harm and depositing him gently on the floor.  
  
"Come on, AJ, let's go say hi to Mommy," Bud said quietly to AJ. "We'll be right back," he said to Mac and Harm, but neither registered his comment.  
  
Mac continued to look at the ground for a moment, and finally Harm cupped her chin and tilted it upwards to look him in the eye. To her surprise she saw not the usual cocky grin, but in his eyes a tenderness that she hadn't ever seen before.  
  
"You still up for that dinner, Marine?" Harm said softly, his hand sliding up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing her cheekbone. Mac leaned into the caress. Much to her displeasure, her eyes filled with tears, for about the 10th time that afternoon. She blinked rapidly, but he saw.  
  
"Would you mind if we just got some take-out? I don't know if I feel like being around other people tonight, Harm," she said softly.  
  
"How about that little Italian place around the corner from your apartment?" Harm replied just as softly. "We'll light a fire and have a quiet evening together."  
  
"Sounds perfect," Mac smiled; her brown eyes warm and inviting. With unusually perfect timing, Bud walked back into the foyer with Harriet in tow.  
  
"COMMANDER!" Harried cried and threw her arms around his neck. Harm hugged her back, smiling, if a little surprised. "It's so good to see you! Can you stay for dinner? Both of you? There's plenty!?"  
  
"Oh, Harriet, thank you," Harm said gently. "We've made other plans. Rain check, please?"  
  
"Of course, you know you are welcome here any time," Harriet beamed at him, glancing at Mac to gauge her reaction. "But make it soon!"  
  
"We will," Harm responded as he took Mac's arm and they turned for the door. "We'll see you real soon."  
  
They started down the steps of the Roberts' home and Harm slipped his arm around Mac's shoulders. It seemed natural for Mac to then slide her arm around Harm's waist as they walked back to Harm's SUV. Harriet watched them from the front window, unseen. She sighed happily, her fingers crossed. She hated that the Commander had left the Navy. But maybe when God closed that door, he opened the window to Sarah Mackenzie's heart . . .  
  
Sarah Mackenzie's Apartment 1745 Eastern  
  
Mac pulled plates, utensils and napkins out of cupboards and drawers while Harm pulled the take-out food out of the bags. He removed the lids to figure out which dish was his, hers and the ones that they had both agreed on.  
  
"OK, the side of sausage and meatballs is yours, the eggplant parmigiana is mine, salads and garlic bread for both of us, and manicotti for both of us," Harm finished as he took the last package out of the bags.  
  
"Good, I'm really hungry," Mac said looking at all the food, licking her lips. Harm stopped what he was doing and put both hands on the counter and looked over at her. She looked up to see his amused expression. "What?"  
  
"When are you not 'really hungry' Mac?" Harm chuckled and began to scrape portions of the salad into two bowls. Mac laughed too, and got out a basket for the garlic bread. He spooned the food onto their plates and between them they moved everything to the table. Mac went back into the kitchen to pour out two glasses of soda and brought them back to the table. Harm was still standing, and he pulled her chair out for her.  
  
"Thank you, Harm," Mac said with a smile. She had been without his gentlemanly ways for so long; she forgot what it was like to be treated like a lady. As Harm helped her push her chair up to the table, he leaned down to her ear and said, "Any time, Sarah."  
  
Mac blushed a light pink, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Harm. She brought her head down and began eating her dinner. Over dinner she caught him up on little Jimmy Roberts young life, and Harriet's reaction when she realized that her son was named after Captain Kirk. Harm howled with laughter.  
  
He sobered as she told him about Bud and Sturgis' relationship, how strained things were at the office, and how difficult Sturgis had been lately. "I think he's trying to prove something, Mac," Harm said as he took a bite of garlic bread.  
  
"I understand that, Harm. We all know what it's like to make a mistake and to try to make up for it," Mac realized what she had said, and that it was exactly how she had been feeling about her relationship with Harm since his arrival in Paraguay.  
  
"Mac," Harm started.  
  
"Listen, Harm," Mac said at the very same moment. They both laughed.  
  
"You go first," Harm said.  
  
"All right. Thanks," Mac started again. "I want to apologize for my behavior in Paraguay. I treated you badly when you saved my life. I never even thanked you for it. I appreciated it then, and I appreciate it now. I can't excuse why I did it; I'm not sure what made me behave the way I did."  
  
"Mac, you were nearly tortured, you listened to Webb being tortured, you saw people killed right in front of you. I think we can chalk some of it up to Post Traumatic Stress," Harm replied to her. "But while we're on the subject, I want to apologize, too. I should have recognized the trauma that you had suffered and gone a little easier on you. I know I pushed, and I'm sorry about that."  
  
Mac toyed with the pasta on her plate. "I guess my only regret is that you didn't push sooner." She heard Harm put his fork down on his plate. She looked up to see him looking at her intensely. She put her fork down, too.  
  
"Are you finished? I'll clean up," she said, picking up her plate and his. Harm sat in his seat, not moving, clearly lost in thought.  
  
Mac came back for a second load of dishes and as she turned back into the kitchen Harm found his voice. "OK if I light the fire?" he asked as he stood and moved into the living room.  
  
"Sure, sounds good," Mac called. "Should I put water on for tea, or make a pot of coffee?"  
  
"Have any hot cocoa mix?" Harm asked, sounding very much like a little boy.  
  
Mac smiled, wondering not for the first time if this is how their son might sound one day. "I'll do you one better: I'll make it from scratch."  
  
"Wow! Sarah Mackenzie makes cocoa! I'll have to write this down," Harm teased.  
  
"Watch your step, flyboy, or yours may end up with a secret ingredient," Mac warned. "And I don't mean marshmallows!"  
  
Their cocoa in hand, they sat shoulder to shoulder on the sofa. The fire crackled and the atmosphere was homey and comfortable. They were watching "The Princess Bride" which happened to be on cable, and Mac pronounced a favorite. The Dread Pirate Roberts had just been pushed down the hill by Buttercup. Harm drank deeply from his cup and then set it on the end table. He took the remote and clicked off the movie.  
  
"Harm?" Mac questioned. Harm put his arm around her and leaned in to whisper in her ear.  
  
"Mac," his breath tickled her ear.  
  
She, too, put her cup down, before she spilled it. "Yes, Harm," she asked expectantly, turning to look into his grey eyes.  
  
He pulled back a little and reached across to take her hand. He played with her fingers for a minute, not looking at her face. "You know what little AJ said this afternoon about missing me? About YOU missing me?"  
  
Mac knew that would come up again, and braced herself for teasing.  
  
"I've missed you, too," he whispered into her ear, finishing his statement with a kiss to her earlobe.  
  
Mac turned her head toward him to look into his eyes. Harm brought his hand up to turn her head further. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. For a moment, she didn't react except to close her eyes. As Harm started to pull away, she responded, leaning toward him and returning the kiss.  
  
Harm pulled back for a moment and opened his eyes. Mac's face was tilted up towards his, her eyes closed, her lips pursed ever so slightly, awaiting his kiss. As he looked at her, holding her face in his hands, her eyes slowly blinked open. Her beautiful brown eyes were wide with questions. He brushed his thumb against her lips.  
  
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known in my whole life," Harm whispered in wonder. "Kiss me."  
  
"Oh, Harm," Mac whispered back. She lifted herself up, and brought her knee over his legs so as to straddle him and sit on his lap. Harm was a little surprised, but got with the program quickly. His hands at her hips pulled her closer. She moved her arms up and over his shoulders, her hands at the back of his head. She fitted her mouth to his. Their kisses were passionate and hungry. Harm could hear her moaning and he pulled back and moved back in, planting little kisses, sucking on her lips just lightly.  
  
"Harm," Mac moaned in between his kisses. "Harm, honey . . . "  
  
"What, baby, what?" Harm panted, kissing her again and again.  
  
Mac stopped just long enough to look at him. He leaned forward to kiss her again. "Make love to me," she said. He stopped and looked into her doe eyes, her lips swollen from his kisses, her hair tousled. He kissed her cheek, and whispered into her ear, "As you wish."  
  
More to come . . . maybe . . . 


End file.
